The SSMU Equity Committee and the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) present: a screening of Persepolis, followed by discussion. Vegan food – falafel from Nilufar – provided!

Persepolis is a 2007 French animated film based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution.

The space is wheelchair accessible.

(re)Doing It: A Week of Sex (re)Education!

Sex. We love to talk about it, think about it, and (maybe) do it. But how much of what we know about sex is taken for granted? What’s hot, or normal, or disgusting and where do these assumptions come from? How do social values of “privileged sex” affect what types of sex we’re having or may want to have? What about our culturally sexed and gendered bodies? How do we challenge and overturn the systems which tell us how to love and how to fuck?

This isn’t your high school sex ed class. Come get (re)educated. (re)Do it.

For more information: 514-398-2106 or queermcgill@gmail.com

Childcare is available for events, please let us know 48 hours in advance. All venues are wheelchair accessible unless noted.

Slip on those long black gloves and join Cameryn Moore, Phone Whore for an evening of comedy and cocktails (with frequent interruptions). Ms. Cameryn comes up from Boston with a performance that began between calls. Drawing from her work as a phone sex operator and delving into the murk of her own sexual life, she considers how what appears as acting out roles for the gratification of others has in fact stoked her own very real appetite for sexual power. “Phone Whore” is about fantasy and mind control, taboos and fetishes, and the place of “deviant” desires in society today. With martinis before and a talkback session (…more martinis) afterwards.

Cocktails: six et plus (commencement 18h00)
Show: commencement 19h00

We regret to inform you that this venue is not accessible.

Co-presented by Queer McGill, QPIRG McGill and the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy

This workshop will discuss how abortion and choice have been posited and contested on campus, particularly at McGill. From the Birth Control Handbook to Choose Life’s Echoes of the Holocaust, we’ll see how liberal and leftist discourses of civil liberties and anti-oppression are co-opted to argue for the so-called rights of both pregnant and “pre-born” bodies. This language is further twisted as the right wing presence on campuses increases on many fronts, protecting itself from criticism with claims of”free speech”. We’ll call attention to the manipulative new face of pro-life and right-wing organizing while challenging ourselves to address it, and present arguments against it, in creative and effective ways.

Presenter:
M’ar Stine

Co-presented by Queer McGill, the Union for Gender Empowerment and the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy

It may seem extreme, but fisting – inserting an entire hand into a welcoming vagina – is in fact one of the most intimate and sensual kinds of penetration two people can enjoy. This workshop covers anatomy, techniques and safety tips, with a focus on maximizing pleasure for all concerned, givers and receivers alike. Anyone who loves vaginas is welcome to come, whether they have one of their own or not.

Presenter:
Andrea Zanin, a.k.a. Sex Geek, pretty much writes and talks about sex all the time unless she’s eating, sleeping or having it. She lives in Toronto and is an organizer, educator and writer within the queer, polyamory and BDSM/leather communities.

So you’d like to be romantically involved with more than one person at once? Or maybe you’d just like to sleep with someone other than your one-and-only? Whether you’re considering your first steps into non-monogamy or you’re an old hand looking for a fresh perspective, you’ll find valuable tidbits in this common-sense approach to enjoying love and sex in the plural. This is an interactive workshop with lots of room for beginners and experienced poly folk alike to share their questions and experiences.

Presenter:
Andrea Zanin frequently speaks about alternative sexuality for universities, colleges, sex shops, community groups and conferences in Canada, the States and internationally. Andrea also writes alternative-sexuality news and commentary for the Montreal Mirror, the Toronto Xtra! and Outlooks Magazine, as well as blogging at http://sexgeek.wordpress.com.

Wednesday November 18, 20h
Keynote: Is it Radical to be a Man?
Stewart Biology Building (1205 Docteur Penfield), McGill University, Room S1/4

How are “personal,” “private” identities/choices, and work for social justice connected? Should queer activists be trying to dismantle the gender binary? Or has this goal actually divided transgendered people and sidelined other, more important issues? In order to examine these questions, this lecture will explore the politics of masculinity and male identity through the cultural feminist analysis of gender in the 1970s, through gay liberation, and into 21st century queer theory.

Presenter:
Patrick Califia is a bisexual transman who has been speaking and writing about queer politics and culture since the late 1970s. An early opponent of anti-porn feminism, he has defended sexual variation and called for a broad critique of sexual repression when it operates to oppose feminism and equal rights for queer people.

Presented by Queer McGill, the Union for Gender Empowerment, the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office.

Pleasure and intimacy are areas of human experience that have been dominated by the gender binary. The identities of “men” and “women” are necessary for lovemaking, and it is in the realm of sexuality where these genders are physically defined. How do differently-gendered bodies and their desires create an arena for safe and celebratory passion? This workshop will focus on one group of transgendered people, female-to-male transsexuals or transmen. Califia will discuss the diversity of transmasculine physiology, relationships, fantasies, and issues. Are we creating new definitions of masculinity and manhood, or are we striving to bring our transgendered bodies into as much conformity as possible with the definitions that already exist? Are we ready to move beyond asking for tolerance and assert, instead, that our bodies deserve adoration just as they are? Rather than present the audience with a set of solutions, this workshop will ask questions that apply to all embodied people who long to feel bliss and connection.

Presenter:
Patrick Califia has lectured all over the world and is the author of nearly a dozen books. His non-fiction includes Public Sex, which popularized the term “sex radicalism.” Speaking Sex to Power, and Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism.

The Herstory of Porn is a cult classic porn-art documentary that is both educational and entertaining. It examines important cultural topics including censorship, controversial art, feminism, gender issues and sex education. Based on Annie Sprinkle’s touring show, she takes us through a campy and honest history of her pornographic films in a way that is almost Mystery Porn Theatre 3000.

This workshop/demonstration will answer some basic questions about BDSM practice, culture, and politics. Why do some people like to be hurt and get aroused by certain types of pain? Why do other people like to take care of those needs? How and why does pain provide ecstasy? What sort of spiritual value could BDSM techniques possibly have? The bulk of the presentation will be devoted to a live exploration of the top/bottom dynamic. Califia will be working with a brave volunteer. They will negotiate an encounter, he will restrain the subject, and then see if they can create an out-of-body experience of sustained bliss or oneness with the divine. Respect the vulnerability of the presenters, please. Do not attend this workshop if explicit BDSM play offends you; we need positive energy from our spectators to make this work.

Presenter:
Patrick Califia lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his lover of five years, some kittens, and a plethora of books and erotic weaponry.